GORDON WU, managing director of Hopewell Holdings, was not his usual effervescent self at a corporate briefing with journalists on Wednesday afternoon.
Poring over charts and spouting forth figures, Asia's infrastructure visionary defended his track record in building and completing projects, the level of his company gearing and the group's overall strategy up to 2000.
With former stock exchange chairman and group non-executive director Charles Lee Yeh-kwong at his side, Mr Wu went through his project thinking and planning in a lot more detail than at previous press gatherings. It was a welcome change.
There were numerous protestations through his briefing to the effect that bankruptcy, group liquidation and the knocking of bailiffs or administrators on his door was not in prospect. Not now, and not in the near future.
Power station Pagbilao in the Philippines, the super highway in Guangzhou, the expressway in Bangkok and future projects in Pakistan along with Indonesia were all under the micros-cope.
The press was told Hongkong Bank was in the picture. The credit-lines were good. Lunch with the bank was still a civil affair; it had to be as he ate with John Gray, Hongkong Bank chief, on Tuesday and Sir William Purves, HSBC Holdings chief, yesterday.
